I have decided that what I really want for my birthday is a super good book to read. I want to lay in bed all day and read it while drinking hot chocolate. I want it to be a book that is so absorbing that I can't stop reading. The problem is, I read so much, I am having a hard time finding books I like, plus I am picky about what books I'll read. I like them to be in first person, memoir or at least sound like a memoir. Alice Hoffman is the only author that I like who writes in the third person. Here's a few books I have really liked, any suggestions to help me find the perfect birthday reading? Time Traveler's Wife, Running with Scissors, The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint, Memoirs of a Geisha , The Dogs of Babel, anything by David Sedaris or Alice Hoffman. What I also want for my Birthday: a makeover from Clinton and Stacey (but only if I don't have to cut my hair), I want my studio to be re-done by magical little elves so that I can wake up and have it all organized and perfect, I want to have an on/off button for my inner nag so I can shut her up and allow me to relax now and then, I want to hug that panda cub, I want my future self to come visit me and tell me how it all works out so I can stop worrying about the future, I want a doggie stroller for Toby. I realize some of these might be easier to achieve than others. Oh and I want to find that perfect book so I can stay in bed and read all day when I turn 31 on Dec 17th.

A couple of my all-time faves: The Way the Crow Flies (Anne Maire MacDonald) and Stones From the River(Ursula Hegi). Heavy reading, major tear-jerkers...you won't be able to put them down!Happy Birthday!

You might try a book called Life is So Good by George Dawson, it's wonderful! The first chapter starts out with a horrific memory (I wasn't expecting it, so thought it'd be better to be prepared), but his life story is amazing. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0141001682/qid=1134141072/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/102-0862019-9364150?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

mb shaw - yup read all those, loved Dry and Magical Thinking. And loved the Heartbreaking work of Staggering Genuis too. Now maybe Augusten Burroughs (sp?) can write another book so I can have something else to read!

Amy Tan is my all-time best favorite writer and while I have loved every word she has written, The Bonesetter's Daughter is a kind of magic book for me. I cannot tear myself away from her books. She is such a great storyteller. BUT if you really want a page-turner with a slightly skandlous flavor, try The Secret Life of the Lonely Doll, a biography of Dare Wright, who was a photographer/writer/model. Fascinating. There were passages that I had to reread because they were so surreal.

Book suggestions-anything by Ursula Hegi, A Miilion Little pieces by james Frey,A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry,Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund and what about White Oleander-did you read that yet?I could go on and on-LOL!! These are just what I've read in the past 6 months.

Here's some of my favorites:Anything by Barbara KingsolverThe Virgin Blue or The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy ChevalierStolen Lives (autobiography)Anything by Sue Monk KiddLittle Alters Everywhere by they Ya-Ya sisterhood author (I liked this one best)And, my most favorite of all is the Outlander Series (first book by same title) by Diana Gabaldon. These books are time travel back into Scotland during the time of the Battle of Culendon and present day but can't remember where the main character, Claire, is from. Anyway, they are books you can't put down. While reading these, I even started speaking with a scottish accent in my dreams! They are completely absorbing.

Oh, I so love to read too! I've read quite a few of those books. Time Traveler's Wife was one of my all time favorites and I just finished reading Memoirs of a Geisha (great book!). I think I'll try the one's you've suggested that I haven't read since we seem to be on the same page (teehee) when it comes to books. :)

I need your mailing address! You can email me at joleenieweenie AT hotmail DOT com. Thanks!

Try the "His dark materials" trilogy by Philip Pullman, if you haven't read it already. The books are "The Golden Compass" (aka "The Northern Lights", "The Subtle Knife" (my favorite book title), and "The Amber Spyglass". They are juvenile fiction, but the themes are sophistocated. Much darker and more beautifully witten than the Harry Potter series.